When the Dawn Comes
by KTEW
Summary: Modern AU. When it's announced that their school is putting on a musical, everyone rushes to audition. And, with Ty Lee directing, the casting is sure to be interesting! Teoph, Smellershot, Kataang, Sukka, Tyru, Maiko
1. Chapter 1

**A/N First chapter by Zombiequeen13 on deviantART. Tried to link, couldn't.**

*Katara*

I took in a deep breath, forced a small smile, and walked up onto the stage.

Ah, auditions. Fun, trilling, and terrifying all at the same time.

Ty Lee was judging. Wow, I was lucky. The smile turned genuine and I waved. She grinned and waved back.

I walked over to Song, at the piano, and told her the number. She smiled and giggled.

"Why am I not surprised?"

She flipped to the page and started.

I sucked in a breath and joined in.

"i_I dreamed a dream in time gone by_/i_  
><em>"i_When hope was high and life worth living_/i_  
><em>"i_I dreamed that love would never die_/i_  
><em>"i_I dreamed that God would be forgiving_/i"

I had to force back a smile now. I sounded better now than I had hiding in my room, practicing.

"i_Then I was young and unafraid_/i_  
><em>"i_And dreams were made and used and wasted_/i_  
><em>"i_There was no ransom to be paid_/i_  
><em>"i_No song unsung, no wine untasted_/i

"i_But the tigers come at night_/i_  
><em>"i_With their voices soft as thunder_/i_  
><em>"i_As they turn your hope apart_/i_  
><em>"i_As they turn your dreams to shame_/i"

That'd been the note I was worried about. Not bad, if I do say so myself.

"i_He slept a summer by my side_/i_  
><em>"i_He filled my dreams with endless wonder_/i_  
><em>"i_He took my childhood in his stride_/i_  
><em>"i_But he was gone when autumn came_/i

"i_And still I dream he'd come to me_/i_  
><em>"i_That we would live the years together_/i_  
><em>"i_But there are dreams that cannot be_/i_  
><em>"i_And there are storms we cannot weather_/i

"i_I had a dream my life would be_/i_  
><em>"i_So different from the hell I'm living_/i_  
><em>"i_So different now from what it seemed_/i_  
><em>"i_Now life has killed the dream I dreamed_/i"

I got my breath back and relaxed my shoulders, smiling. Ty Lee and Song were applauding. But something else grabbed my attention.

I squinted at the corner of the theater. There was a figure in the shadows, but I couldn't make out who it was.

"That was great, Katara!" Ty Lee snapped me out of it.

I smiled again. "Thanks."

"Next?" Ty Lee called.

I walked off, a bit more confident.


	2. Chapter 2

*Bee*

Ugh. Why was I even here? I guess just to hear if little miss perfect was as good as everyone said she was.

And, of course, she was.

I folded my arms and marched toward the door.

"What are i_you_/i doing here?" I heard behind me. I'd recognize that voice anywhere, unfortunately.

"Leaving," I snapped.

She cackled. "You couldn't make it, anyway."

I spun around. Azula was leaning against the back row of seats, smirking.

"Excuse me?" I said through my teeth.

"Please. A scrounge like you?" This would be the first time I ever agreed with Zuko: his sister i_was_/i a prick!

I stalked back toward her. "Listen here, Princess," I hissed. "I can sing just as well as you, or anyone else at this school."

She grinned, evilly of course. "Prove it."

"Bite me!" I said, a bit too loudly.

I marched back to the stage and stomped up. I was in luck, Ty Lee was just about to leave.

She was turned around, but heard me come up. "Last minute entry?" she said in that smiley voice.

"Yes," I said, biting back sarcasm.

She turned, saw who it was, and looked alarmed.

"Um…" she said, taking her clipboard back out. "It's Akamori, right?"

I nodded.

She scribbled it down. "Whenever you're ready," she said, eyes still twice their normal size.

I walked over to Song, trying not to stomp.

"Hi, Bee!" she said, smiling like I was her best friend. She gave that smile to everyone.

"Hey," I muttered. I told her the song.

Her eyes widened. "Um, are you sure about that?"

"Would you rather I do something from American Idiot?" I said, forcing a smile.

She shrugged, looking a bit concerned. "I guess not…" She sighed quietly and started playing.

I turned back to the empty seats. Ty Lee obviously recognized the intro, because her jaw hit the desk.

I sucked in a breath and started singing.

"i_Whenever I see someone_

_Less fortunate than I_

_And let's face it, who isn't_

_Less fortunate than I?_

_My tender heart tends to start to bleed_

_And when someone needs a makeover_

_I simply have to take over_

_I know I know exactly what they need_/i

I turned my attention to the back corner of the theater, where Azula was still standing smirking.

"i_And even in your case_/i," I sang sweetly.

_Though it's the toughest case I've yet to face_

_Don't worry, I'm determined to succeed_

_Follow my lead, and yes, indeed_

_You will be_/i

"i_Popular_

_You're gonna be popular_

_I'll teach you the proper ploys_

_When you talk to boys_/i"

"You would know!" I heard her yell.

I gritted my teeth.

"i_Little ways to flirt and flounce_

_I'll show you what shoes to wear_

_How to fix your hair_

_Everything that really counts to be_/i

"i_Popular_

_I know about popular_

_You'll hang with the right cohorts_

_You'll be good at sports_

_Know the slang you've got to know_

_So let's start_

'_Cause you've got an awfully long way to go_/i

"i_Don't be offended by my frank analysis_

_Think of it as personality dialysis_

_Now that I've chosen to become a pal_

_A sister and advisor_

_There's nobody wiser_

_Not when it comes to_/i

"i_Popular_

_I'll show you 'bout popular_

_And with an assist for me_

_To be who'll you'll be_

_Instead of dreary who you were – well, are_/i," I grinned.

_There's nothing that can stop you_

_From becoming populer-lar_/i

"i_La la, la la_

_We're gonna make you popular_/i

"i_When I see depressing creatures_

_With unprepossessing features_

_I remind them on their own behalf_

_To think of_

_Celebrated heads of state or_

_Especially great communicators_

_Did they have brains or knowledge?_

_Don't make me laugh!_/i

"i_They were popular!_

_Please, it's all about popular_

_It's not about aptitude_

_It's the way you're viewed_

_So it's very, very shrewd to be_

_Very, very popular like me_/i"

The music slowed down and I took a deep breath, trying to sooth my rage.

"i_And though you protest your disinterest_

_I know clandestinely_

_Your gonna grin and bear it_

_Your new found popularity_/i

"i_La la, la la_

_You'll be popular_

_Just not quite as popular as ME_/i"

I caught my breath and turned back to Ty Lee, who was staring wordlessly. And that was saying something.

"Uh…" she started. She snapped herself out of it. "That was great, Smellerbee! I'm sure we can find something for you."

I nodded shortly. "Thanks."

I walked off.


	3. Chapter 3

*On Ji*

I did a couple of deep breathing exercises before walking into the chorus room. I hadn't been able to make it to the open auditions, so I'd scheduled mine with Ty Lee.

"Hey," I said, smiling a bit, as I walked in. I was nervous, but at least I wouldn't be on stage.

Song looked up from doing some warm-up scales, her fingers still flying over the keys as, smiling, she said, "Oh, hey, On Ji."

Ty lee glanced up from writing something on a clipboard that she'd placed on the top of the piano. "Oh sec…" She jotted down a couple more words before running over, clipboard in one hand and grabbing my wrist with the other, and dragging me to the side of the piano. "Stand… here," she said, locking my shoulders into place. She ran to a chair, pulled it over, sat down, pulled up one leg, and leaned her clipboard on it, still smiling. "And sing."

I stared, still a bit overwhelmed by the flurry of pink she'd just turned into, before swallowing and gently clearing my throat. I gestured to Song, who I'd already practiced with. That might've been an unfair advantage, but she _was_ one of my best friends. She started playing the song.

"_And now I'm all alone again_

_Nowhere to turn, no one to go to_

_Without a home without a friend_

_Without a face to say hello to _

_And now the night is near_

_Now I can make believe he's here_"

I closed my eyes, letting my mind go back to my first breakup. It was a corny–and weird–thing to go back to, but it helped with the emotion I needed for the song._  
><em>

"_Sometimes I walk alone at night_

_When everybody else is sleeping_

_I think of him and then I'm happy_

_With the company I'm keeping_

_The city goes to bed_

_And I can live inside my head_"

It wasn't like in the musical, where he just didn't love me back. It was three years ago. He'd gone on some kind of world tour thing and had broken up with me before he'd left._  
><em>

"_On my own_

_Pretending he's beside me_

_All alone_

_I walk with him till morning_

_Without him_

_I feel his arms around me_

_And when I lose my way I close my eyes_

_And he has found me_"

What hurt was that he'd never wrote. Never called, never even texted me. I'd hoped to keep in touch, but since I never knew where he was and he'd actually never gotten a cell phone, I couldn't do it myself._  
><em>

"_In the rain the pavement shines like silver_

_All the lights are misty in the river_

_In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight_

_And all I see is him and me forever and forever _

_And I know it's only in my mind_

_That I'm talking to myself and not to him_

_And although I know that he is blind_

_Still I say, there's a way for us_"

I wasn't even sure if I still had feelings for him. I had a boyfriend now, but I couldn't help but smile at the thought of when I would see him again. It was either that or cry._  
><em>

"_I love him_

_But when the night is over_

_He is gone_

_The river's just a river_

_Without him_

_The world around me changes_

_The trees are bare and everywhere_

_The streets are full of strangers_"_  
><em>

Song always said that he wasn't right for me. That I shouldn't be thinking about him if he'd broken my heart like that. Sho Ji and Jin had backed her up.

"_I love him_

_But every day I'm learning_

_All my life_

_I've only been pretending_

_Without me_

_His world would go on turning_

_A world that's full of happiness_

_That I have never known_"

I resisted a sigh after the high note. Could I help my thoughts about him? I at least wanted to talk to him again, even if we didn't get back together. Even if he had a girlfriend. After all, I wasn't available._  
><em>

"_I love him_

_I love him_

_I love him_

_But only on my own_"

I opened my eyes, breathing a bit too hard. Even against that, I sighed.

Song jumped up, walked over, and hugged me. "'Ji, that was awesome!" she said, beaming and holding me at an arm's distance, her hands gripping my shoulders.

I smiled. "Thanks."

I looked over at Ty Lee, who was grinning as she jotted down her notes. "You were great!" she said, her voice just as smiley. "I'm sure you'll get a part."

I smiled a bit wider. "Thank you." I turned back around to leave and froze, my smile dropping off of my face in surprise.

I ran out of the room and managed to chase down the boy I'd just caught eavesdropping. The boy I'd been thinking about the whole time.

"Aang!" I said, grabbing his arm.

He flinched and slowly turned around. "Oh, hey, On Ji. Long time no see, huh?"

"Uh, yeah," I said, smiling a bit, confused. "W-when did you transfer back?"

"Last year, actually," he said, nervously scratching the back of his neck with his free hand.

"O-oh…" The smiled melted off of my face. He'd been back for a year and hadn't bothered to find me?

"I'm sorry about not calling you or anything…" he muttered, toeing the ground.

I let go of his arm and stared at the floor. "Um, yeah…"

"I asked Song how to find you, but she wouldn't tell me," he said. I could feel his eyes on me. "Something about not letting me break your heart again."

I smiled a bit. So that was why she'd said that so many times. I looked up at him and shrugged. "It's fine. I mean, you like Katara now, right?" Song had told me about how _they'd_ kept in touch and 'how dare he talk to her and not you'. "And I have a boyfriend, so it all works out."

His expression lightened a bit. "Oh yeah, you're with Hide, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah. We've been together for a couple of months now."

He smiled. "I always knew he liked you. So, you were auditioning for the musical?"

I smiled back and nodded again. "Yeah. I've always had a thing for theater."

He beamed. "I auditioned, too!" _That_ was the overly animated Aang I knew. "So did Katara and Toph!"

I giggled a little at his enthusiasm. "Cool! So I guess I'll see you at rehearsals?"

He nodded, grinning. "Well, I'd better get going," he said, his expression toning down a bit. "See you around!" He turned and ran.

I laughed against the wind blowing my hair into my face. "See you!"

I smiled to myself and kept walking, this time in the direction I was actually supposed to be going in. With that… _interesting_ group, this play could prove to be quite fun.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: This is the first chapter where you really need to read chapter 1, so... (zombiequeen13. deviantart. com /gallery/ ?catpath=scraps#/ d30gfn9)**

* * *

><p>*Teo*<p>

"Hey, Ty Lee?" I yelled down the hallway, sprinting to catch up with her.

"Hm?" she asked, turning around, much to Mai's annoyance.

"I, uh," I started, gasping for breath, "I was wondering if I could still audition for the musical."

Mai rolled her eyes as Ty Lee beamed, then thought a moment.

"Well," the brightly-dressed girl started, "the deadline was yesterday, but we don't have enough guys, so… Sure!"

I smiled. "Great. When?"

"Just come by the choir room after school," she said, grinning, before turning around and walking in the other direction as her conversation with Mai restarted.

"Alright, now I just have to not mess up," I said to myself, taking off running as I realized the bell was about to ring and my next class was halfway across campus. My eyes widened as I realized something else. "And think of a song to sing. Crap!"

Four hours later I was in the choir room, sweating bullets as I waited for Ty Lee to show up. I'd tried to use the image of the girl onstage to build my courage, but it'd only made me more nervous. I was nowhere near that good. My limited knowledge of show tunes didn't help, either. I'd had to pick one of the only songs that I could remember all of the words to and that wasn't sung by a girl.

"Sorry I'm late!" Ty Lee almost sang, walking in. "Mai and Azula needed my help with something."

I flinched at the mere mention of the latter, trying to keep flashes of the past five years of her torment from crossing my mind. I stood up and walked to the center of the room just as Song slipped in.

"Oh, hi, Teo," she said, smiling at me. She seemed a bit surprised.

"Hey," I said, smiling back.

"So, what are you gonna sing?" she asked, setting her stuff down and sitting at the piano.

"Uh, Razzle Dazzle from Chicago," I managed, trying to swallow and failing.

Ty Lee grabbed her clipboard, jotted something down, and looked back up at me. "Whenever you're ready."

I gulped, looked over at Song, and nodded. She started playing.

"_Give 'em the old razzle dazzle  
>Razzle Dazzle 'em<br>Give 'em an act with lots of flash in it  
>And the reaction will be passionate<em>"

I closed my eyes, bringing the image of the girl to the front of my mind, to give myself a little motivation, if nothing else.

"_Give 'em the old hocus pocus  
>Bead and feather 'em<br>How can they see with sequins in their eyes?_"

I thought of her voice, the way she managed to practically stop my heart on that last note.

"_What if your hinges all are rusting?  
>What if, in fact, you're just disgusting?<br>Razzle dazzle 'em  
>And they'll never catch wise!<em>"

My eyes flew open as I suddenly felt determined. I needed to do this.

"_Give 'em the old Razzle Dazzle  
>Razzle dazzle 'em<br>Give 'em a show that's so splendiferous  
>Row after row will crow vociferous<em>"

I tried to throw a bit of dramatization into my movement, gesturing with my hands and praying to the Spirits that I didn't look like an idiot.

"_Give 'em the old flim flam flummox  
>Fool and fracture 'em<br>How can they hear the truth above the roar?  
>Throw 'em a fake and a finagle<br>They'll never know you're just a bagel_"_  
><em>

I did a little spin, slowly forgetting my audience.

"_Razzle dazzle 'em  
>And they'll beg you for more!<em>

"_Give 'em the old double whammy  
>Daze and dizzy 'em<br>Back since the days of old Methuselah  
>Everyone loves the big bambooz-a-ler<em>"

Ty Lee and Song were all but gone from my mind as my usually-awkward-and-half-hearted dancing got a bit more complex.

"_Give 'em the old three ring circus  
>Stun and stagger 'em<br>When you're in trouble, go into your dance_

"_Though you are stiffer than a girder  
>They'll let you get away with murder<br>Razzle dazzle 'em  
>And you've got a romance<em>"

I didn't even see them anymore. I was completely into the words, unaware of what my feet were doing.

"_Give 'em the old Razzle Dazzle  
>Razzle dazzle 'em<br>Show 'em the first rate sorcerer you are  
>Long as you keep 'em way off balance<br>How can they spot you've got no talents  
>Razzle Dazzle 'em<br>Razzle Dazzle 'em  
>Razzle Dazzle 'em<br>And they'll make you a star!_"

I froze up as I stopped, my surroundings crashing back onto me. I quickly directed my eyes to the ground, breathing too heavily and blushing fiercely, unable to believe that I'd just done that.

I finally managed to force my eyes to them. Song looked stunned, while Ty Lee was beaming at me.

"Wow, you're amazing!" the director said happily, jotting something down.

Song got up, ran over, and threw her arms around me, making me stumble backwards out of surprise and almost lose my balance. "I didn't know you could sing!"

"I-I, uh…" I started, not quite sure what to do.

"I'm sure we can find something great for you!" Ty Lee said as Song let me go.

"On Ji and Jin will be so surprised when I tell them!" Song said, beaming at me.

I gulped at the mention of my best and only friends in school. "Oh, please don't."

She looked confused for a second, then seemed to catch on. "Stage fright, huh? Alright, I won't tell them. But they'll find out at rehearsal." She smiled kindly before going back to the piano.

I froze. I'd forgotten that they'd auditioned, too. "Oh, that'll end well," I muttered.

"Well, that's it," Ty Lee said brightly, not seeming to have heard.

"Seriously?" I asked, surprised. "I don't have to read anything?"

She shook her head. "These are voice-only auditions. It's an idea I came up with!"

"Oh," I said, still confused and put a bit off guard by her all-too-happy expression. "Okay." I grabbed my backpack and started to leave, but paused halfway through the door. "Hey, Ty Lee?" I said, turning back around.

"Yeah?" she asked, looking up from where she was showing Song her clipboard.

"Um, there was a girl auditioning a couple of days ago," I said, my curiosity getting the best of me. "Black hair, pale, really light eyes… What's her name?"

"Oh, you mean Toph?" Ty Lee asked. "Yeah, she was great!"

"Thanks," I said, smiling at her. "Later." I walked out the door, trying to remember where I'd heard that name before.

"Wait, how'd you…?" Ty Lee started.

I ignored her and started walking faster.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I've finally introduced the main character. ^^ Full credit for this chapter goes to Zomz, along with the entire idea, even if she doesn't read this. She'd originally planned a Glee-esque discovery of his voice (a la WillFinn, courtesy of Sokka), but I have my own plans for Sokka. :3**

**Review!**


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